In the Kingdom of the Blind

It's not hard to tell why this movie was not a blockbuster. Not a lot of special effects, fake blood, gun battles, car chases, etc. But the story is very, very good.

And make no mistake. William Petersen gives a performance that solidifies my opinion that he is one of the best American actors...EVER! When Al, the cop whose brother has gotten into trouble with the mob, goes to see Tony C., Petersen (who plays Tony C.) gives a five-plus minute soliloquy that, if you appreciate good acting, will give you chills! It is one of the best performances I have ever seen, and I will actually take the DVD, scroll to this point in the movie, and watch only this performance. There is only one flaw in the scene, and it is not Petersen's fault. At one point, he quickly stands up from a seated position and the camera man is too slow to follow him, so his head goes out of the shot. This should have been corrected in post-production with a cut-away, but it wasn't. Nevertheless, Petersen's performance is breathtaking, and anyone wanting to learn from a master of his craft should watch this movie, if for nothing else than this performance. If you think he's good in CSI, you ain't seen nothing' yet!

In the begining, nailing a guy to the cross? made no sense. Black guys muscling in on the Italians, no particular plot addition other than a small part for Paul Winfield. Lots of yelling for no apparent reason. Bad soundtrack. Interesting to see William Peterson pre CSI. And I could swear Dennis Franz was in the Pizza palor getting a slice but on review it wasn't. Just like this DVD. It was worth every cent of the $2.50 I paid for it.

The film had a brilliant start, Michael Biehn getting the film started, although I was disappointed at the fact that it was a mere cameo when he makes no further appearance. Paul Winfield is also wasted, but plays his role brilliantly. As for the rest of the cast, William Peterson was particularly good. The cast was fine, but the film as a whole could've been better.

The plot: A cop's loyalty is tested when his brother blah blah blah, whatever... it's not terribly important.

Let's start with the title. "In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye is King". It's hilariously long, clunky, and tells you almost nothing about the actual movie. As soon as I saw the title, I knew that I was going to love this movie. How could it not be a B movie, with that title? I was not disappointed. It really does open itself to some kind of snarky review title like, "In the Kingdom of the Bland, This Movie is King".

Let there be no mistake: this is a low budget, derivative, clichéd, B movie that takes itself very, very seriously. Like many B movies, it's got a bait-and-switch scam regarding one of its advertised stars (Michael Biehn, who's got a brief cameo). If you are not very demanding, I think this movie can be legitimately enjoyed for what it is. It's not particularly bad, but it's ruthlessly mediocre. To some extent, I might even compare it to Tommy Wiseau's The Room, in that it tries so hard to set up tense, dramatic scenes, full of powerhouse acting -- and then fails. Maybe the entertainment that I derived from it wasn't entirely intentional, but I just can't bring myself to hate this movie. Though it lacks the over-the-top ineptitude and unintentional campiness of The Room, it makes up for that with generous helpings of overacting and pretentious seriousness.

Recommended only for those who have a high tolerance for B movies. If you're looking for something to enjoy non-ironically, then you might want to skip Kingdom of the King, as I like to think of it.

Excellent performance from the ensemble cast in this gritty indepedent from actor, writer, director Nick Vallelonga. Great cameos from Michael Biehn, William Peterson, and Paul Windfield.

Other standout performances from Quinn Duffy, soapstar Kristian Alfonso, Leo Rossi and Vallelonga himself. Rumor is this film was made for under $300,000, and if that's true, this is one helluva underrated independent